RHS 78, East Kentwood 65
WBBL player of the game-Kyle Trewhella
Rockford
cagers too much to handle for East Kentwood
01/08/02
East
Kentwood coach Justin Jennings would like to see his team start the way it
finishes. Rockford coach Steve Majerle wants the Rams to finish what they
start.
The
two teams held true to form in an O-K Red Conference game at Rockford last
Friday night, as the unbeaten Rams ran their record to 7-0 with a 78-65 victory
over the Falcons.
Despite
the double-digit margin of victory -- which included leads as large as 23
points in the second half -- Marjerle was less than complimentary when assessing
his team’s performance.
"We
did not play very well," Majerle said. "I’m disappointed in
our defensive effort. We jumped out to a lead and played well early. But then
we got into a coast mode.
"When
you win a lot, you fight getting complacent. That’s a tough thing."
East
Kentwood outscored the Rams by a margin of 43-40 in the second half, which
included a 27-point fourth quarter. The Falcons (2-7 overall) have scored
as many as 38 and 30 points in the final quarters of games this year.
"It’s
difficult for us," Jennings said. "We play well in the second half,
but usually the first quarter hurts us. We have a terrible time getting started."
Ignited
by the hot hand of Kyle Trewhella, the Rams jumped out to a 13-2 lead. Trewhella
had 11 points in the first quarter -- including a buzzer-beater 3-pointer
-- providing Rockford with a 20-6 lead.
Six
players -- Trewhella, Michael Redell, Erik Hansen, R.C. Douglas, Brian Cleland,
and Andy Ruddick -- all scored for the Rams in the first quarter. It was 38-22
at halftime.
"The
biggest thing for us is that we don’t have a lot of height," Jennings
said. "We really struggle when we try to put the ball inside, and there’s
not a lot we can do against big teams."
Trewhella
scored to send the Rams off to a 7-0 run at the start of the third quarter,
but the Falcons refused to go away.
Trailing
56-38 after three quarters, East Kentwood began its fourth-quarter surge.
Behind the play of Cory Sanders, Vinnie Mayfield, and Sidney Walker Jr., the
Falcons cut the deficit to 11 points twice. But each time, Rockford’s
Drew Powell answered with a 3-pointer at the other end.
Sanders
led the Falcons with 14 points, while Mayfield scored all eight of his in
the final quarter. Matt Harmon added 12 points and Brandon Briggs 11 for the
Falcons.
East
Kentwood outscored the Rams 27-22 in the final quarter, but it was too little,
too late.
"We’re
just trying to go out to compete and get the guys experience," Jennings
said. "We’re not at a level that Rockford plays at. They stay with
their system, which is something we try to teach our kids.
"We
usually play well in the second half. The key is getting started earlier."
Powell,
Joel Visser, Jeff Cole, and Erik Hansen joined their teammates in the point-production
column as 10 Rams scored in the game. Trewhella led the way with 22, Douglas
added 14, Briggs 12, and Powell 10 for Rockford.
"We’ve
got different people scoring," Majerle said. "Where we’re
dangerous offensively is that we can come at you a lot of different ways.
"We
like to outscore people, but we’re not making an earnest effort to stop
people on defense," Majerle added. "The key to this team will be
is how well we play defense. If we can do that, we’ll be fine.
"With
all that being said, I’m happy that we still won."